Memories in a Firefly
by LinSama
Summary: A visit from a firefly causes the Maximoff twins to exchange memories. They both get to experience first hand the horrors that the other has gone through while they were apart all those years...
1. Enter the Firefly

**A/N: Came to me during a sleepless night. While it was cold. After an acid trip. Well, I lied about the last one, I watched an acid trip video. I gotta get this out of my head because it's annoying me to death, and my mind is far too busy storming for other story additions to have this bouncing around. **

**It's another addition for the pile of fics about sad character pasts, cause you have to have your angst fix. Takes place shortly after the episode, _'The Toad, The Witch, and The Wardrobe'._ I hope I at least achieve some degree of uniqueness with this. Give me a chance huh?**

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Another lovely, crisp autumn season had set in. The leaves of fiery colors littered the ground more than they populated the trees now, by this night of early November. A Saturday night of ill air and bad will had settled neatly in place at the boarding house. It was late, and the majority of the residents had gone to bed; why stay up with nothing to do? There was a frost on the ground and without warm clothing, no one really dared to exit the house unless absolutely necessary.

The old house creaked and groaned as it was mercilessly pummeled by the raging northern winds. As such, the building grew steadily colder as the night went on, the cracks in the windows and holes in the walls serving as entrances for the frigid air. The difference between outside and inside remained mostly within the wind's chilling presence or slightly relieving absence. With their Landlady gone, as was the norm, the five teenage inhabitants were left once again without any real assets besides the roof overhead, and maybe the ancient cast iron wood stove: their only heat source. Of course at the time being no wood existed to feed it with, and thus they dwelled in the negative temperature range.

Currently, the only signs of life among the freezing tomb were the two residents which remained conscious. They both sat in the living room, on either end of the desolate couch, one reading a thick book, the other staring at the minute television, whose signal had been destroyed for a good 15 minutes; the near worthless antenna having blown off the roof. The wisp of icy air filtering through a tape-patched hole in the window behind them passed it's own time by nipping at their bare necks.

Finally the dead silence was broken when Pietro pressed the Power button on the remote, ending the dull erratic light of the TV, and tossed the piece of long outdated technology away, adding a characteristic overly loud sigh of boredom. The only reaction received was a characteristic 'warning huff' from Wanda as she turned the page of her yellowed novel. Pietro settled back into the place on the couch he had warmed slightly, having shifted with his remote toss. He knew that sound well, as he knew most of his twin's body language. She was telling him _"not to start"_.

Wanda was more the boss than the others realized; though they knew greatly the threat she could turn into. Pietro was the leader, and he often controlled the brotherhood; but Wanda often controlled (or at least influenced) him. She could be scary sometimes; in other words her methods of persuasion worked wonders. She was the only one who could really make the mischievous Quicksilver behave. Just that morning she had graciously demonstrated why one should not try to push her to do something she had plainly stated that she did not want to do, by beating her brother over the head with that rather heavy hardcover she was currently reading when he had done so.

Pietro didn't know what exactly was going on in Wanda's twisted up brain, but, he didn't want to really. She wasn't trying to kill him or their father anymore, so he supposed she could be considered 'stable'. The remaining fact of the matter was that, despite the recent happenings with Wanda, the twins disliked one another. More than sibling rivalry, the two just plain didn't like each other. Not hate, mind, but still a rather potent dislike. The complication was, that while Pietro felt he had no choice but to dislike his sister, Wanda felt that she was supposed to dislike him, but didn't know why.

Something kept buzzing around in the back of her head, telling her that her brother was a bad person, that he wasn't trustworthy, that he had wronged her in some unforgivable way. The same thing was going on when she thought of her father. But what had they done? She didn't know. She strained, trying to get something out of the ocean of her memory. All she could ever draw up was reasonably good memories though, never anything so bad that it would cause this odd subconscious warning bell. She gazed down at her book; it was about memories and dreams. She had been reading about how the mind worked for a while, ever since her head had gotten into a mess. She mulled through each memory she could recall of her father and brother, considering what the book had to say about them.

After a while, Wanda noticed an inconsistency in her memories. In the earliest ones she could recall, when she was, maybe 10, or thereabouts, and younger, she could derive that she and Pietro were reasonably close, and that their father was a stern man. Cold, even; and probably proud. Yet, in the later childhood memories, their father seemed to be kind and nurturing, and the closeness between she and Pietro still stood firm. So why was it that they never heard from Father now? Where was he, and what was he doing that was so important that he'd leave his only children in a trashy place like this to fend for themselves? Either he thought so highly of them that he believed they would have no trouble surviving, or...he didn't care.

And what about her and Pietro? In the past they seemed so fond of one another, but now... It was like they were enemies or something. She found herself listening to that warning in the back of her head more than she did her logic. She wasn't exactly nice to her brother, and he returned the favor without remorse. Some of the 'disagreements' they'd had before had gotten quite fierce, and had ended in her distributing some serious bodily harm. She'd always felt sorry afterward though. She didn't like hurting people, she just got so worked up sometimes...

Coming out of her thoughts, Wanda glanced to her left, expecting Pietro to be long gone. But he wasn't. He was sitting there as before, staring at nothing really, and visibly shivering. The cold bothered him so. But what could one expect? He had next to no body fat. She couldn't focus with the knowledge that he was sitting there freezing to death, somehow, she believed, on account of her.

"Why don't you go to bed already?" she used a non-caring tone, as the thought that he didn't really care about her quickly got rid of any cares she had for him. "You're obviously freezing."

"What was your first clue?" Pietro had a smartassed response for most anything. He made no attempt to leave, just curled up in a ball and gave his sister a defiant look. Wanda didn't want to bother with the curse that was her brother and his ego, so she just sighed and went back to her thinking.

She focused on the later memories of her childhood, to see if she could pick out anything else strange about them. The earlier images had been fairly dark and gloomy, but these ones were very colorful. While she could see herself having fun in the sun, she couldn't recall what it actually felt like to do those things. She couldn't remember the soft grass under her feet, the warm wind in her face as she rode the carousel, or even what candy tasted like.

But there was something else that was strange about these memories. They weren't just colorful, they were _too_ colorful. There were no imperfections. What made things real was imperfections. So then, were these images just lingering fragments of lost dreams? Perhaps something that her mind had created and wished was reality? It seemed plausible, but why would these images stand out so at this stage of her life? It just didn't make sense...

Wanda returned to her grueling task of reading this long and confusing book. _'Maybe it'd just be easier to go see a psychiatrist or something...'_ she thought, growing desperate for some kind of answer. This triggered sudden, fierce warning bells in her mind. Her hands flew up to grip her head, her book dropping to the floor as the already damaged window split in two. It somehow stayed in the frame, despite the wind. In a moment Pietro had patched the window with what little duct tape remained in the house, and Wanda had regained herself.

"You're not exactly helping the problem Wanda..." the speed demon's tone was full of disdain and bitterness. He resumed his 'rigorous activities' once again, without another sound.

Wanda muttered some kind of apology and picked up her book. '_I'm afraid of doctors? What the hell... Why?'_ Of course her mind provided no answers. This was getting beyond frustrating. There was one other way to find out, and that was to ask someone who knew. That was either Pietro or Father, and God only knew where he was. She sighed. _'Why not?'_ She knew she wasn't likely to receive an answer, or a straight one anyways. Her twin could weasel his way out of anything with that mouth of his.

"Pietro...er, what kind of things did we do as kids?" Her brother looked at her like she was crazy, of course she probably was in his opinion. If she had not been so serious about the question she might've found his expression humorous.

"What?"

"When we were little, what would we do?" Pietro shifted in his place and averted his eyes. '_Why is he so uncomfortable?' _she wondered.

"Kid stuff." was all the response she got. She decided on a different approach, less vague.

"Did we go outside much? To the park or something?" She needed to explain the 'memories' that didn't fit. Her brother just hung his head.

"No."

"Why?"

"Not allowed."

"Not allowed to go outside?" That was hard to believe, or comprehend. "Why was that?"

Pietro took a while to respond. He couldn't feed her too much info, or she might actually remember certain things and go homicidal again. Then Magneto would skin him.

"Bad neighborhood thats all... He was too busy to take us anyplace..." Wanda gathered from the pause that he was lying. He was obviously scared to tell her much of anything, so maybe it was best for both their sakes that she didn't know. Of course just then she had no idea how right she was.

Wanda sifted through all the questions she had in her head, trying to find some that her brother would consider harmless to answer. A big one surfaced while she was pondering, and she spoke it without mulling it over.

"...What do you think Mom was like?" Something many kids before them had wondered.

Pietro flinched and remained silent. He hated thinking about his mother, it always made him cry. "I dunno, 'Daddy Dearest' never talked about her." His eyes stung, so he closed them tightly. _'Why did she have to bring that up?'_

"Think maybe things would be different if she was around?"

_'Fuck yes!'_ "Yeah, cause then we wouldn't be in this dump, waiting to see if we live or die while our prick father jerks around on something thats never going to happen! She would've kept us away from Magneto altogether!" Pietro had unintentionally started yelling. He realized that he'd spat out too much info in his sudden fit and swore some more while he yanked on his two front locks of hair like he meant to haul them right out.

Wanda was taken aback, to say the least. _'Now look what else I fucked up...'_ She decided not to ask questions about what he'd meant before, since he obviously hadn't meant to say it in the first place. Pietro quieted down and she could hear him sobbing. This gave a few more clues as to why she should hate their father, but still, she couldn't get why her mind was telling her to hate Pietro. The two of them had probably suffered a lot together, making him the only one who could understand her completely. Why hate him when he was all she had? So many questions...

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean-"

"I know." Pietro growled at her, turning away once more.

A fairly large, icy draft came through the room, making the two of them shiver. Pietro muttered 'so fucking cold' while Wanda considered burning her book just for the sake of warmth. The floor creaked too, but so did the rest of the house, so they ignored it. Seeing something out of the corner of her eye, Wanda turned her head towards the room's doorway. A tiny yellowish light, no bigger than her thumbnail, blinked on and off as it drifted into the room. She turned quickly to her still shaking twin.

"Pietro, what's that?" Pietro growled in response.

"Don't you ever run out of-" Then he noticed the light. "It's...a firefly? How the hell did that get in here?"

"More pressing still is why is it alive in the middle of such freezing temperatures? Thats...not right..." Her brother nodded in agreement. "Well, it's creepy, get it out of here!" The firefly drifted over to Pietro as if to give him an easier time. It stopped and hovered a few inches from his face.

"For God's sake Wanda, it's just a bug..." Pietro just sat and stared at the said bug for a while.

"What are you waiting for?" his nervous sister demanded. She then noticed that Pietro's eyes were dead looking; devoid of color or life. He then shut them and fell over, as if he had ceased to live.

Containing a cry, Wanda quickly chose a plan of action. She had to run upstairs and get Toad to eat the firefly, or whatever the hell it was. She threw her book at the demon insect in hopes of keeping it off her back. The book stopped midair in front of the bug as if someone or something had blocked it, and it fell to the floor. Wanda gaped at the unharmed firefly in horror now, which was what she had been trying to avoid doing. She tried to turn and run for the stairs, but she _couldn't._ She couldn't take her eyes off of the bug, no matter how hard she tried. She tried to scream, but no sound would escape her throat.

The whole room started to sway and distort itself, as if it were made of melted wax and someone was smearing it around with their finger. She had to run, she had to cry out, she had to do something. But she couldn't. She was going to drop dead, just like Pietro. The room distorted more and more, until it was all one mess of colors; only the yellow firefly stayed normal. It's light was still blinking eerily. _'That light...'_ She suddenly felt sleepy as the colors of the room changed to black, and the demon firefly's light faded away...

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**Well, that bastard demon firefly killed them. Damn. Now I can't write a story about them... Stupid bug screwed up all my plans; this always happens! Argh...**

**You believed me didn't you? oo I actually fooled someone, can't believe it Don't worry kids, they're not dead, they're just taking a dirt nap. Well, not exactly, cause they're not outside... Uh, nevermind.**

**I know what you're wondering now: _Will the twins be ok? Will the house ever be within a sane person's living standards? What in God's name is that firefly!?_ Fear not, for all will be answered in the next exciting installment. **

**Now, if you've taken the time to read this far, _please take a few more moments to review_ and tell me what you think! You don't even have to sign in, I don't care! I love to hear what people think (provided they're nice about it), and I love ideas even more. But what I love most, is when people try and guess whats gonna happen. I love making people guess, cause I'm evil. I am trying to become a super villain after all.**

**So, review please, love ya if you do, see ya some time in the future.**


	2. Memories of Wanda

**A/N: Well, I know this was the hardest part for me to write, because my brain wasn't bursting with ideas as it was the other parts. So, for the most part I'm winging it, and I hope it turns out. I made sure it was a certain length before I posted, so that the story isn't lop-sided and unequal with character's pieces. **

**Oh yeah, thanks to SpeedDemonRox for actually reviewing.**

**Be forewarned, these next 2 chapters will contain disturbing stuff, such as violence, drugs, sexual evils, and other stuff that just pisses certain people off. Only rated T because it's not extremely graphic. Oh hell, I'm scared now, I'm gonna change the rating...just to be safe. I'd say _'enjoy'_ but this stuff isn't exactly _enjoyable_. Read on.**

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The darkness was suffocating. It pressed in from all sides, clinging to it's victim and dragging them down into the depths of infinity. Pietro opened his eyes, and only perceived this blackness. There was nothing, just black, all around. Panicked, he fought to right himself; but he couldn't tell if he was moving or not. He ceased his flailing and just focused on breathing. The air was thick and hot. Starting to sweat, Pietro tried to recall what had happened to bring him here, to this abyss. '_What was it...?'_ he thought drowsily. _'...A firefly...'_ was all he could remember that seemed to make sense. _'Wanda wouldn't be able to do this...would she?'_

Maybe she had. After all, how could a tiny firefly do all this? _'No...she wouldn't...that firefly was alive on the brink of winter, it couldn't have been just a bug...' _Of this he was certain. Yes, that firefly was some other kind of entity. _'So...am I dead? Is this purgatory?'_ He glanced around in the nothingness and took in the feelings he had about him. From what he could tell, he was flying...no, falling, face first, downward. _'How do I get out of here...?'_

All of sudden, the air turned cold. Not as cold as the boarding house had been, but almost. Pietro's moist skin quickly chilled, making him hug himself and shudder in a vain attempt to be warm. _'I hope I'm dreaming...God, I hope I'm dreaming...'_ He felt something against his back; something hard. His sense of up and down returned slowly, and Pietro realized that he was lying down on this hard object. He reached down to touch this object with his fingers; or he tried to. His arms wouldn't move from where they were, wrapped about him.

_'Whats going on?! Why can't I move?!'_ Pietro thrashed around, trying to get his arms to move. Then he heard voices. The voices of several people, all male, and aged; they didn't sound so far away. They seemed to echo, like they were in a tunnel or something. He couldn't make them out though, the sound was all fuzzy. Crying out for help, the almost immobile Pietro continued his desperate attempts at freeing himself from whatever bonds had somehow been placed upon him. He tried to kick, but his legs wouldn't move now either.

"Maybe we need more people...It sounds like she's having a fit." a voice came through clear now.

"She's a child, she can't be that hard to handle!" a second one rang out. This was followed by hurried muttering.

Slowly, the blackness peeled away, and Pietro's situation became visible to him. He was in a very small stone room, on what was supposed to be a bed. There was a sink in the opposite wall, and a steel door in the lower corner. He could see the top of someone's head through the narrow window the door had. Finally looking at himself, Pietro realized why he couldn't move. He was bound to the bed with thick leather straps, and he had a straight jacket on.

_'How'd I get like this?!'_ Going back into a panic, Pietro squirmed around some more. _'I have to get out of this! I have to get out of here!'_ His only relief was that when his feet hit the floor, those people, whoever they were, would never catch him. He'd get out before they even knew what was going on. Feeling the jacket's grip on his right arm loosening, Pietro kept up his flailing, despite the strap buckles that were occasionally stabbing him. The door to the room opened, and a man in a lab coat entered. He looked rather self important in the speed demon's opinion, as if he were one to talk.

"And how are we this morning Wanda?" The geek asked in a very casual tone, which didn't help Pietro's mood any.

"_Well_, I'm pissed off, cold, and hungry Mr. Nerd King! Now let me the fuck off this damn torture device you call a bed!" Pietro spat. He noticed that the voice which escaped him was not his own. It was a tiny voice, way too high pitched for a teenaged boy. Hell, it was too high pitched for a teen, period.

"Awful language for a young lady to have, don't you think?" the man replied with a very annoying 'naughty naughty' tone that you used with children. Something else sank into Pietro's head through his rage then.

"Did you call me _Wanda_?"

"Well thats your name isn't it?" More realization dawned on the now minute captive, who shook his head furiously.

"No! I'm not _Wanda_, I'm _Pietro_!" The man sighed in response.

"Perhaps you wish you were, but thats just not the case." Removing a hypodermic needle from his coat, the now rather frightening man turned to his colleagues out in the hall. "She's trying to convince me that she's her brother." This evoked muffled laughter from the men outside. "I doubt she'll present much threat. As long as she can't move her hands, she's harmless." Two other men in lab coats entered. The man then turned to Pietro. "Now then, if you be a good girl and cooperate, we'll only have to do this once."

Pietro was now suffering from a cold sweat. _'This is a dream, this is a dream...I have to wake up!'_ He resumed his desperate struggles against his bonds. As his attacker approached, he managed to get his right arm free of the straight jacket. Wanting to just get something between the two of them, Pietro stuck his hand out at the white clad man.

"Stay away from me!"

A sound that could only be described as 'gooey' was heard, and something hot and wet hit Pietro's outstretched hand. There were resounding screams from the men and the sound of someone hitting the floor. Terrified, Pietro dared to look around his little hand. The man with the needle was on the floor, with his eyes melted right out of his head. The other two had fled, and the substance coating his hand was fresh blood and perhaps, eyeball fluid.

A wave of nausea hit Pietro hard, and he fought to hold his stomach still as he tried to get free enough to lean over the side of the bed at least. He never got to though, as hurried foot steps announced the return of the threat to his existence. Several men quickly held him still while his right arm was returned to it's place on the jacket. They then proceeded to throw the helpless Pietro on the floor and beat him. It was insane. This couldn't be happening. A gang of grown men wouldn't just stand around and beat the life out of a defenseless child, would they?

"I'm sorry! I didn't mean to hurt him! It was an accident!" Pietro pleaded with the mob, just before he caught a foot in the mouth. He swore he felt teeth leave his jaw. He retched and emptied his stomach's contents all over the cold stone floor, and used all the strength he had left to not get his face rubbed in it. All he could taste now was blood and vomit.

Laying on the floor in utter despair, Pietro could do nothing but pray to a god that he didn't even believe in that this wasn't real. It felt real. It felt so real. But why was he here?

_'This isn't my place; I'm not supposed to be here. This is Wanda's...past? This is Wanda's past! This is a memory of hers! But why am I in it? Why am I in her place...?'_ Finally, the feelings faded, as did the sounds, and the images. Pietro was back in the grasping darkness. He felt so sick...and afraid...and...guilty... _'Was that the kind of shit that Wanda went through in that place, day after day?'_ He shuddered. _'Wanda...you were right when you said that I had no idea what it was like...'_

He suddenly was able to tell up from down again. He felt he was standing upright, on something flat and solid; the floor, he supposed. Doing a quick check for any limited movement, he thankfully found none. Then the sounds came into focus. The pained cries of a little girl filled his ears, causing him to cover them firmly. _'I don't wanna see more of this shit! Once was enough!'_ The images came into focus, and Pietro beheld his child sister tied to an operating table, in tears.

The room was very sterile looking; completely white, and every tool shiny. It was fairly big compared to the cell from before. The doctors that surrounded Wanda were sticking something large and metallic into her lower back. It sounded like a drill. Blood was all over the place, and she looked very pale. _'What the fuck are they doing to her?!'_

Pietro ran over to the table and attempted to pull the doctors away, but of course he couldn't. This was a memory. It had already happened. He couldn't change anything. Everything he tried to touch, he simply passed through. He was like a ghost. _'I'm sorry Wanda...'_ He slumped to the floor in defeat. _'I thought I had it bad...but you had it worse...so much worse...' _

Pietro tried to ignore the scene before him as best he could. Otherwise it would've driven him mad. After a while, the screams of his twin tapered down to meek, tired sobs. He dared to look up, slowly. The doctors were now cleaning up and sealing several tubes full of this bloody, spongey looking substance. _'Bone marrow...'_ The depressed speed demon concluded. He'd read about it in school, he knew it was supposed to hurt like fuck. He then wondered why they wouldn't just sedate you for something like that.

The memory faded out, as the previous one had done; feeling, sound, images. The exact same way it came in. Back in the darkness, Pietro hoped once more that it was over. He couldn't bear such images in his mind, especially after some of the things he'd done to Wanda. _'I can't stand seeing them using her like a lab rat...'_ But no sooner had he finished that thought than a another memory began to materialize.

This time he was in a room almost exactly like the operating room, but the table was propped up and the whole place was almost totally filled with a big old machine, for the room itself was rather small. Wanda was strapped to the table on her back this time; and she was somewhat older. She no longer had the innocent fear on her face; her expression was just blank. But in her eyes Pietro could see a festering bitterness and anger that would only amplify with years to come. She made no attempts to escape, no request for mercy; she just sat still and waited for the pain that was likely to come. Pietro could only do the same, from his end.

Yet another guy in a lab coat entered. They all looked like fucking clones. He didn't say a word, just stuck some kind of rubber bit into Wanda's mouth, so that she wouldn't bite her tongue. Then he picked up a strange device that looked almost like a headset, which was plugged into the machine that resided nearby. He placed it on her head, so that the end pieces were rested firmly at her temples. _'I hope thats not going to jab anything into her head...'_ came Pietro's faint wish.

In expectation, Wanda closed her eyes; but not tightly. She calmly resigned herself to her fate. The lab coat turned a dial on what looked like a big retro car radio, causing it to utter a faint series of beeps. He then promptly pushed a button on the same device, and there was a crackle, similar to what one would hear upon receiving a shock, only much louder than the norm. This immediately sent Wanda into intense convulsions, her jaw clenched tightly on the bit as blood leaked from her nose and mouth.

Pietro turned away, trying not to let his waterworks get started. _'I had to have been wrong before...'_ he told himself. _'This is some kind of nightmare...it can't really be Wanda's memories...'_

The memory faded away, and he was in the blackness yet again. Rubbing his stinging eyes, he sighed and waited for the next torture scene to appear. He hadn't felt this helpless and trapped since... _'...since Magneto sent Wanda away...'_ As if on cue, another, perhaps the worst memory he would see, began to come.

The sound of Wanda screaming obscenities and struggling fell upon Pietro's ears now. As the images came, he recognized the dingy cell that had belonged to his sister. She was apparently not much different in age from the present, and she was in her straight jacket as always. She was trying to keep yet another lab coat guy away from her, but was losing the battle. The lab coat threw her down on her bunk and held her there, seeming to be used to fighting with her.

"Don't bother fighting with me, you little bitch." he muttered, his voice sounding not quite normal. "Did you think I'd forgotten how you took my eyes from me, years ago?"

Pietro shuddered. It was that guy; obviously he still didn't know what 'accident' meant. _'He shouldn't have been terrorizing a little girl anyways, the stupid prick...'_ he thought angrily.

"Luckily, through the wonder of technology, I have my vision back."

"Oh, you want a fucking medal? Fuck off before I melt something else off you!" Wanda unfortunately didn't sound as confident as she was trying to appear. The lab coat just snickered.

"Tonight, I'm going to take something precious from you that you can never get back."

_'No...don't do what I think you're going to do...just don't...'_ Pietro's eyes began to sting with tears again as he saw the lab coat begin to remove his pants. The speed demon turned away and covered his ears so he didn't have to hear the terrible sounds, but they somehow came in clear anyway. He let the tears flow freely now.

_'God...why couldn't she at least have been spared that? Why couldn't I be the only one that had to go through that shit? No wonder I so easily accepted that she was crazy when she got out...Anyone who had to go through that...all the time...would go crazy...'_ The sounds just seemed to get louder by the passing second, and Pietro finally snapped.

"**STOP!**" he shrieked in complete despair, punching the cell wall with all his might.

The sounds around him abruptly ceased. Looking at his fist through the shield of tears, Pietro saw that the wall, no, the whole scene, had cracked like fine glass. The cracks spread throughout, making light crunching noises, until eventually the whole memory shattered, sending Pietro plunging back into the dark abyss.

He just felt that he couldn't stop crying now. Not after all of that. It just didn't seem like it'd ever stop either. Was that his fate now? To stay here for eternity, seeing a million and one reasons why he should've had more faith in his own sister? _'No way out...not even a way to kill myself...'_ That brought him back to his first thoughts upon entering this place. Maybe he was really dead, and this was his own hell. He hadn't thought he had been bad enough to deserve hell, but he was probably wrong. He shouldn't have done anything for Magneto, he should've told him where to go, he should've done what he really wanted to do; he should've sided with Wanda and killed the bastard. Or at least, let her kill him.

But what if he had survived? Then he just would've just come beat him within an inch of his life, maybe even kill him in a rage. Pietro wouldn't put it past him. He'd kill his own son and not think twice. _'Bastard...I had my own life to worry about, why couldn't you just leave me alone...?'_ Another wave of tears came up to replace the old. _'If only I could get out of here...I'd do things different, I'd try, really I would...'_ He needed to get out of here somehow; if only to see Wanda once more. Just once, so he could say he was sorry, even though she wouldn't know what he was apologizing for.

"I want to get out of here..." he sobbed to the blackness, or whatever being may hear his pleas. "I want to see Wanda...I have to see Wanda..." The dark only seemed thicker, heavier, as if somehow it was mocking his despair. "**WANDA!**" he cried at the top of his lungs. Perhaps, by some miracle, she would hear...

Silence. Nothing. Just the sound of his sobs.

_"Pietro?"_

The sobbing speed demon paused. He no longer felt he was falling. Was he just hearing things? Was it another memory come to torment him?

_"Pietro..."_ the voice came again. It was Wanda's; soft, and full of worry.

A light suddenly shone in the distance. It was bright, like a star, and colored a deep scarlet.

"W-Wanda...?" Pietro murmured in disbelief. _'She heard me?'_ It was a miracle.

Feeling solid ground under his feet now, Pietro took off towards the distant light. It was far away, but it wouldn't take long to get to it; not for him.

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**And there you go. I tried my best, I hope it pleased. I do have high hopes for this fic, considering the effort I'm putting in. I almost always get into fandoms late, _ugh_. I have lots of ideas for the next chapter, so that one should be even better! I'm going to take a break from the fic for a few days though, because all I've been doing for four days straight is _this_. I might work on it on Halloween, since I really have nothing to do. Sad, huh?**

**I had lots of possible allusions in this bit; how many did you pick up? I'm into it, so I guess I'll list a few big ones here. My allusions and inspirations are as follows:**

**Inspirations:**

**The coolness of fireflies (they blink!)**

**The mystery of purgatory (endless dark...)**

**One flew over the cuckoo's nest (brain shock)**

**X-men evolution (of course!)**

**The evil dead (the eye smoothie)**

**Allusions:**

**Other parts of this story (most to come)**

**House of M (Mags killing Pietro in a rage)**

**The secret window (the memory shattering)**

**Wanda's codename (the scarlet light)**

**Well, those were the intentional ones. There could be more, ya never know. **

**Once again, if you've come this far, and you like this story _review please_. With the amount of time and effort I put in, if I don't get reviews, it gets really discouraging. I mean, _why waste time writing stories for people who can't be bothered to type a couple sentences as thanks?_ Don't mean to be cynical, but...**

**Thanks for reading, keep an eye out for Wanda's half of the Memory Purgatory!**


	3. Memories of Pietro

**A/N: **

**Keep in mind that this story does not really give my idea of purgatory. In fact I don't think I even believe in most religious stuff. The dark place in this story is just a place I made up as the blank space between memories and thoughts in one's mind. I named it The Memory _Purgatory_ because it seemed to fit into what most people feel _'limbo'_ AKA _'purgatory'_ would be like.**

**This is probably the biggest chapter in the story. I had more ideas involving Pietro in my head than any other character. I threw a lot of them in this fic cause it seemed interesting. Were his experiences as bad as Wanda's? Maybe.**

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_'Am I awake...?'_ Wanda wondered to herself as she perceived only black all around; though she was certain her eyes were open. _'I'm sure I am...'_ She blinked the drowsiness away and attempted to sit up. Was she even lying down? She couldn't tell at all. The air was cold, and she had this odd feeling about her, like she was drifting in a sea. _'This is so odd...I must be dreaming.'_ She paused. _'But that firefly had to have been real! Does that mean I'm dead or something?!'_ The panic ended quickly as Wanda regained herself. She had to be calm, whatever was going on. _'Pietro...I wonder if he's ok...'_

Suddenly, the sea shifted violently, becoming rough and pulling Wanda downward. She felt like she was being drawn into a whirlpool, down into the blackness, unable to breathe from the pressure exerted on her. Her resolve gone, Wanda thrashed around in vain attempts to break free of this force that so tightly held her. She soon lost her struggle and gave in to the sudden desire to sleep. _'This is what it's like to suffocate...?'_ were her last thoughts.

There was sniffling...no, crying, in the darkness. Wanda woke up from her sleep. _'I can breathe again...But what happened?'_ She looked around. She was in a small, bland room made entirely of metal. There was only a bed, which she was currently lying in, and a desk in the corner; both made of metal also. A digital clock that displayed army time was built into the wall, it's red digits glaring at her from above the doorway. The door was open; pale light seeping through the space. _'Where am I now?' _

She noticed the crying again, it was actually kind of loud; how she'd blocked it out this little while, she couldn't figure. There was hushed conversation going on outside. The tips of two shadows were barely visible in the light on the floor. Starting to feel a bit afraid, Wanda sat up and pushed the blankets off of her. The cold of the room quickly set in on her though, and she pulled them up again, brushing her hair out of her face. _'Wait a minute...! My hair isn't long enough to go in my face!' _She looked at herself a bit more closely in the dim light.

From what she could tell, she was younger; much younger. Her hands were only about half of the size they normally were, and she was quite a bit shorter. _'I'm...a child now... How did that happen?'_ She didn't get to pursue the matter further, as the voice of a crying child suddenly broke the relative silence in half.

"Why would you do that?! It's not her fault she makes bad things happen!" the tiny voice cried.

"She's out of control Pietro. She has to be put someplace where she can't hurt anyone. Don't you realize how easily she could kill you?" A much older, almost ominous voice replied.

"I don't care, she's my sister!" There was a _whoosh_ sound, and then Wanda felt as if someone had slammed into her. She gasped as the wind was knocked out of her. Taking a few painful breaths, she became aware of the warmth of another body against her own.

She was being hugged, or rather, clung to, by a bawling little Pietro. _'Why is he so upset?'_ she could only wonder. This seemed so familiar somehow, yet also unreal. Maybe...this was part of her past. Those surreal memories she had seemed to have occurred around this time. So perhaps this was the real thing, and those memories really were dreams? This scenario seemed to fit more into what she could remember of her early life.

"I don't want you to go...I don't want you to go..." Pietro sobbed into her.

"I'm not going anywhere..." Wanda murmured in confusion as she decided to return the embrace she was receiving. The room became darker as someone obstructed the doorway. _'Father...'_

"That is enough Pietro." His voice was commanding, no softness in it at all. His presence somehow made her uncomfortable, like she had something to fear of him. But he was their father, why would they be afraid? When her brother didn't move from her, Magneto tore him away by the scruff. "I said enough." Pietro still cried loudly, as Wanda became more nervous by the second.

There was a sudden, quick crack, and the crying ceased. It took a moment to register in her mind. 'Did he just slap him? He wouldn't be that cruel, to hit a little kid, would he?' But she knew the answer. This was a memory, and this was her father looming over her, with her abused brother in his clutches. She felt her deadly temper start to rise up from inside of her.

"You didn't have to hit him!" she yelled in her tiny, high pitched voice. The clock in the wall exploded, widening the doorway considerably. Magneto barely flinched, as if he were expecting something to blow up. He strode to the doorway, almost tossed Pietro out, and looked back at her.

"You need more self control Wanda." He then sealed up the room, leaving her in darkness.

The feelings of the cool room and warm bed melted away, and were replaced by the mysterious caress of the freezing sea. Perhaps it was the sea of memories. Wanda sighed. _'To think that that was what my childhood was really like; it's depressing...'_ And if Pietro got hit all the time, it was really no wonder that he was an ass. You can't give affection if you've never known it. _'I'm sure Magneto was a wonderful role model...'_ she thought bitterly.

The feeling of water disappeared as she felt ground under her feet. She was still wondering what was going on exactly, but it might help her remember her past. A familiar crying reached her ears. _'Whats he crying about now?'_ The scene faded in; it was the same all metal place. This time it was in a hallway. Pietro and Magneto were there, having another unpleasant conversation. Wanda looked herself over, discovering that she was normal again.

"Why'd you have to do that to her?! Those people will be mean to her! They were already hurting her, didn't you see!?" Pietro wailed to their father's unsympathetic ears. "We're your kids, you can't just throw us away when you get bored of us! I want Wanda back!"

"It has to be this way, she was too dangerous to have around. Now just forget about her; I don't want to hear any more of this." came Magneto's slightly annoyed reply.

"Forget about her?! I won't! And if you won't let me see her, then you should just throw me in that place with her!"

"No. You have a purpose to fulfill in life."

"Then why can't Wanda have one too? She wouldn't be bad..." Pietro had a spark of hope in his voice. Magneto shook his head.

"You don't understand. You will when you're older."

"No, you're just mean!" Pietro started pounding against Magneto's leg as hard as he could; which wasn't very hard. "You're mean and I hate you! I'll hate you forever! I hate you!" He was shaken off, and left on the floor to cry alone. "Wanda..." he sobbed the name over and over again.

The memory shut out like a light being turned off, and Wanda was feeling a growing dislike for her father. She didn't know where she'd gone, but it obviously wasn't good. And Pietro had been left with no one who cared, just a cold hearted father who expected too much of him.

The steady up and down tosses of the sea of memories were hardly relaxing; for she still feared having another whirlpool experience. Though she seemed to be finding a few answers, her mind was still loaded with questions. _'Where did I go exactly? And what happened to Pietro while I was gone?' _The sea churned, preparing to answer her inquiry.

Like a soft light growing steadily stronger, another memory came into focus. The scene was again gloomy, though the mysterious metal building from before had gone. It was a stormy morning, with rain beating down mercilessly upon three figures. It looked like some kind of suburb; a black car was parked by the sidewalk, and Wanda recognized her father in a trench coat standing by it. At his side was a tiny Pietro, nervously grasping a suitcase that was bigger than he was. They were at the end of a driveway leading to a very comfy looking house, with a flower garden in front. Standing just outside the door of the house was a young woman in a sun dress, holding an umbrella.

"As much as I hate to have to leave you with a human," Magneto said the word with utmost dislike "I have things to do and I can't have you underfoot." He didn't exactly seem to be having a hard time giving his son away to a complete stranger. Pietro just sniffled, as he seemed accustomed to doing at that age, and shuffled forward towards his new home as his father drove away.

Wanda just watched sadly. This trip down memory lane was depressing. The memory faded briefly and then faded back in; reminding her of scene skipping in a movie. Her tiny brother was now standing in a very warm looking kitchen, dripping water on the hardwood floor. He was shivering so violently. The new step mother was kneeling, taking dry clothes out of the suit case for him. Wanda wondered if this woman was a good or a bad thing.

"Here now," she handed a bundle of clothes to him "you go change before you get sick. The bathroom is down the hall, to the left." She was about to ask if he needed her to go with, but Pietro was gone and back already before she could say much. The startled woman gasped and fell backward. "How did you...?" Pietro hung his head as if guilty.

"...I wasn't supposed to do that..." he murmured. "Now you'll send me away too...!" The distraught child started to cry loudly, yet again. Step Mother recovered from the shock and proceeded to hug her bawling step son.

"Why would I do that?" she asked. "I finally have a little boy to care for, after waiting so long; and I got a very special little boy, and that makes it even better." Pietro quieted down.

'Good, so she's not a mutant hater...' Wanda was relieved. 'Of course no one knew what mutants were back then.'

"You don't hate me...?"

"Of course not." The boy's mood lightened, though he was still wary of his new guardian.

"I'm really fast..."

"How fast?" she was genuinely interested.

"Father said I could go..." he paused. "Mach 1, whatever that means...and I could go faster when I grow up."

"Wow..." she was also genuinely amazed. She stood. "Pietro...would you like a cookie?" The little speed demon blinked up at her.

"Whats that?"

"You've never had a cookie...? It's food, a treat." She handed him one, and he stared at it for a while before taking a bite. He looked fascinated. And then his mouth started.

"OhmygoshthisislikethegreatestthingIevertastedIneverknewfoodcouldtastethisgooditssogreatitreallyisdoyouhavemoreIwantmoreIwantlotsmoreitssogoodcanIhavesomemore?" The poor woman just stared in awe.

Wanda fought hard not to laugh at this. At the same time she wondered if Pietro would still yap like that if you gave him sweets. Of course the thought of him on a sugar high scared her.

"What is it you're trying to say?" Pietro bounced up and down with his arms in the air.

"IsaidIwantmorecauseitssogooditsthebestthingeverIwantmorepleasepleasepleaseplease?" Step mom held up another cookie.

"You...want another?" Pietro started leaping up, trying to grab the morsel from her.

"YessssssssIwantmoreIwantitrightnowhurryupandgiveitIwantitgimmegimmegimme!"

In the end Pietro got his cookie and the memory faded. Wanda was thankful that the sad memories took a break, if only for a moment. _'But how will I get out of here?'_ she thought, serious again. _'I just can't be dead...this is really weird...'_

The rolling waves brought forth a schoolyard scene, with little ones running about happily. But in one corner under a tree, a scrap was going on between some kid and Pietro. They rolled in the dirt, pounding on one another while a couple others watched. The other kid was larger than Pietro and made quick work of winning the fight. The kids snickered at the smaller boy's injuries and began walking away.

An infuriated Pietro then delivered a high speed punch right to the back of his attacker's head, knocking him on his face. He didn't get up. His buddies then went and told a teacher about how Pietro picked a fight and beat him up so badly for no reason; when of course the opposite had happened. Pietro then had to go to the Principal's office, with his antagonists laughing at his retreating form.

_'Little bastards...'_ Wanda thought bitterly; god she hated kids. She then also realized she couldn't remember attending school at any time in her life. _'Why is there nothing there...and what is the point of seeing memories of my brother's? I need answers to my past not his.' _The point of these experiences was just not presenting itself to her.

The memory changed to Pietro shuffling into the Principal's office, staring at the floor as he was informed as to why he was there; as if he didn't know. The principal was a thin, middle aged man with thick glasses, and he somehow gave Wanda an uneasy feeling as he closed and locked the door of the office...something wasn't quite right. It was like watching a suspenseful moment in a horror movie; something creepy was going on, and something bad was about to happen, but you didn't know what.

Pietro started to shudder. He didn't move otherwise, and he didn't make a sound. The strange man sat in his chair and beckoned for Pietro to come sit on his lap. Pietro started to cry silently as he did so. He'd already had the defiance pounded out of him, courtesy Magneto. It dawned on Wanda what exactly was wrong then. The pedophile rubbed his victim's belly, his hand creeping lower...

Wanda turned away sharply. _'Disgusting! That's the last thing I need to see!'_ She was getting angry again; especially knowing that she couldn't change the horrible images. Thinking about how hopeless he must have felt then, having his innocence annihilated, it made her feel sick. _'I don't want to know about Pietro's past, just my own. I don't care what happened to him!'_ She hoped whatever was causing this would somehow hear her thoughts and stop the torture.

She really wondered what was causing all of this. Someone or something felt she needed to see all of these things for some reason. She tried to calm herself and think...but she couldn't imagine what would do this. She sighed. She also wished death upon that vile pedophile that had violated her brother. _'Ok, so maybe I do care a bit...' _

Another memory flowed in from the sea. Pietro's familiar cries graced the depressed Wanda's ears as she saw her brother clinging to his step mother.

"Don't make me go back! Please don't make me go back!" he begged as his guardian attempted without success to pry him off.

"Pietro, what's the matter with you? You have to go to school!"

"No!"

"Why not?"

"..."

"Why can't you go to school? You have to talk to me..." Pietro let go at last and stood there, staring at the floor.

"I can't..."

"But why? You don't have to be afraid to tell me anything..." She put her arm around Pietro, and he flinched as if her touch had stung him. "Whats wrong? I won't hurt you..."

"It hurts when you touch there..." Pietro muttered, eyes not moving from the floor.

Carefully, his step mother lifted his shirt a bit, revealing dark bruises on his hips. She was horrified.

"Pietro...where did you get these?" her voice was shaking with dread. "Did one of the teachers do this?" The little one just shook his head in silence. "Was it the principal...?" Pietro flinched again at the mention of his violator. He nodded very slowly, still afraid of admitting that anything had happened.

His step mother gingerly held him and promised that she'd make things better. Wanda wondered what would happen next. The scene faded away and was replaced with the image of a courtroom. The place was packed. At one table in front sat Pietro, his step mother and her lawyer; at the other was another man whom Wanda assumed was the lawyer of that dirtbag pedophile. She felt a bit of relief; that bastard would at least be put away for what he did.

She didn't see him though. _'Odd...'_ The jury stood, and one individual in front of them held up some papers to read from. They were ready to give their verdict, and Wanda listened intently. She might at least get some satisfaction knowing that that putrid man didn't get away with child molestation.

"We the jury find the defendant, Mary Anne Maximoff, guilty of Murder in the First Degree." the juryman spoke out to the anticipating courtroom. The judge then ordered for Mrs. Maximoff to be held until a punishment was decided upon.

_'She killed him?'_ Wanda had gotten her wish.

Pietro clung to the woman as the police officers tried to separate them. She got to say one last thing to him.

"Pietro, please promise me you won't ever let anyone push you around...don't let people make you feel inferior, because you're better than they are." They were then separated as the image faded out.

_'Maybe that was what caused the change in him; he seemed like such a crybaby back then...I should have been nicer...I don't know why my mind keeps telling me to hate him. It might have something to do with me being sent away, but what could he have done? He was as helpless as I was.' _She drifted in the ocean of memories, almost having given up on finding shore. _'I shouldn't be mad at him, it's our father who did bad things. If only I could get out of here...I want to make amends...'_

"Wanda!" A frightened cry rang out in the darkness. Wanda knew that cry well by now, but it wasn't that of a child.

A blue light appeared before her as the cry came again. Without hesitation, she stepped into it. She would find a way out of here, to be with her brother again. If they were going to suffer in life or in this place, they would at least have each other.

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**I'm really sorry about taking so long! As usual, a ton of stuff happened at once and I was really caught up in school, and being sick, and applying to university, and my grandmother died, and it was just a hellish mess. But I'm back to working on this now, so don't fear for your favorite story ever! This is your favorite story ever right? ...Right?**

**I had a ton of more stuff I wanted to put in this part, but for the sake of equality between the two characters, I chopped the stuff I had for when Pietro was older: his terrible new foster home, and some stuff between him and Evan, etc. I thought I'd throw the cookie thing in to be cute, though if you really think about it, it's quite sad when a child hasn't even heard of food actually tasting good (assuming you picked apart what Pietro said).**

**I am also strangely reminded of this fic (especially the last part) when I hear the song 'Great Big White World' by Marilyn Manson. If you haven't heard it, I recommend listening to it; see if you get the same thing.**

**If you've come this far then review would ya? It helps me write better and faster. Thanks very much for your support and patience, and don't worry, you will find out what the hell that freakin' firefly was in the final piece, which will be very cushy.**

**Lin-sama the Super Villain (with freezing fingers)**


	4. Exit the Firefly

**A/N: And here you are, the beautiful conclusion. I know some people wanted me to do more, but I hadn't planned on, and I have no ideas after this point. Besides, I think writing more after this part would ruin the powerfulness of the ending. Not to mention go off topic a bit.**

**Don't worry though, it's not like this is the only story I'll ever write about the twins!**

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Wanda's eyes flew open, and she sat up straight before she even knew what was going on. She had been lying on the floor. She shivered violently; the house was even more bitter cold than she could remember before the blackout; though, the wind had stopped. Maybe it was just because she was frightened... Standing upright slowly, she finally remembered what she'd seen, and more importantly, what had woken her up.

"Wanda!" Pietro cried his sister's name, despite still being unconscious. Wanda quickly picked him up off the floor and placed him on the couch, his head resting on her lap. She was too shaken up from her experiences to try to wake him up at first, so she let him thrash around and whimper her name for a few minutes. When he started crying, she got over her fear.

"Pietro?" He ceased his movements, but she hesitated to touch him. "Pietro..." She stroked his hair gently with a shaking hand. Eventually her brother's eyes fluttered open. Pietro blinked through his tears and looked up at Wanda, as if awestruck.

"Wanda...!" Pietro continued his sobbing and trapped his sister in a bone-crusher hug. Because of their positioning, it was a rather lop-sided hug, but it still succeeded in limiting her breathing. Wanda immediately thought of the first memory she'd been placed in. She returned the hug, though not as hard as the frightened Pietro.

"I'm sorry..." Wanda murmured guiltily.

"Huh...?" Pietro sniffled, not understanding. He couldn't imagine getting an apology from Wanda after what he'd seen. What did she have to be sorry for?

"Whatever happened...where ever it was that I went as a child, it was Father's fault, not yours. I shouldn't have taken it out on you..." Pietro released his hold and positioned himself next to her.

"But-"

"No, it was cruel and selfish of me. You had no power over what happened, you couldn't have helped me; and, if something terrible did happen, maybe... Father didn't know that it would..." Pietro flinched as the horrific sounds and images flashed through his mind.

"Wanda...about that..."

"You don't have to tell me anything; I don't care anymore..." She interrupted again. "I read about this mental illness called Repressed Memory Syndrome; where your mind makes you unable to remember traumatic things, though they're still there someplace... If I went through something so bad that it was repressed, then maybe it's better that I don't know..."

"...Maybe..." Pietro trailed off, tears still trickling steadily. "Wanda, I just have to say...I love you..." She looked at him in slight shock. He sniffled. "You're my sister, and I love you...even if you did try to kill me a couple times..."

Wanda was finally unable to contain her emotions any longer. She burst into tears and pulled her brother into another embrace. "I love you too...!"

They both sat and cried together for a good 20 minutes before either spoke again.

"It's...nice to have you back..." Pietro murmured, sitting back. "At least one person in this dysfunctional family cares about me..."

"You know, maybe Father really does care, deep down..." Wanda quietly searched for something to wipe away her running eyeliner. "He's just so worried about the rest of the mutant race that he forgot to worry about his own children..." She smiled meekly. "Maybe if the X-men stop him enough times he'll settle down."

"Maybe...but I wouldn't count on him softening up exactly..." Pietro folded his arms and became solemn.

"If we forgive him, he might come around."

"If only..."

The sat in silence for few moments.

"So, what do you suppose that firefly was?" Pietro asked, looking out the window and up at the stars in the crystal clear sky. He wanted to tell her what he'd seen, but knew he couldn't. She might've thought he was crazy anyways.

"I don't know..." Wanda wondered if she should tell him that she knew. She decided that it was better left unsaid. "Perhaps it helped us..."

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It was now 3am; the dead of night. All of the late-night places had finally closed, and residents had turned in. Besides the occasional dim streetlight, there were no real signs of life in the town of Bayville. Nothing made a sound, nothing moved.

But, if one were very stealthy, and had very good eyesight, one might be able to make out something moving in the blackness. A short, slightly hunched figure slowly but steadily progressing through the area, to places unknown. Who or what would be skulking about at this hour, in such frigid temperatures; and why?

Few knew him, and even fewer ever saw his real face. Jason Wyngarde, better known to the select people who had known him as Mastermind, was who. He scuffed along, shivering despite having a jacket. His feet were really killing him; he didn't think he'd ever walked so far in his life. One would wonder why he had decided to walk so far; in fact, he somewhat wondered himself.

He had walked all the way to Bayville so that he could locate the house where those kids were staying and do a 1 hour job. It had been tiring pulling memories from one jumbled brain and forcing them into another, and then ripping them out again. It was a delicate process, and required more concentration than he could remember mustering before. But, he had committed to doing it, and it had to be done right. If he hadn't been careful, he could've scrambled the memories together, or damaged the subjects' ability to remember, even caused one to be stuck thinking they were the other! That wouldn't do.

When Magneto had told him to mess with that young girl's head, it'd been a real kick to his pride. He was far from proud of doing such a thing, even if she was a danger to others. She had had every right to want to kill her father. But what could he do? He was no match for Magneto. Seeing Wanda's memories had been haunting, and the second time hadn't been any better. He wondered why exactly he had come out here to try and help those two kids. Was it just to attempt to clear his conscience? No.

The world was quickly becoming a hellish place for mutantkind. Prejudice, hate crimes, possibly even a war brewing. Friends no longer trusted each other, and families were being torn apart. Mastermind continued to hobble along, praying he could hold out. It was a hell of a hike back to the hideout, but he had to do it. He couldn't let Magneto know what he'd done. He hoped his efforts had paid off. _'In a time like this, you need a kindred spirit; someone you can trust.' _

And those two only had each other.

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**A/N: Come on guys, admit it. I had ya stumped. You had no idea what the firefly was! Well, I hope I succeeded in surprising and touching you and all that. I know I got a bit teary at a couple parts when writing it (I know, weird, but I get into stuff sometimes). When you think about it, the only one capable of causing such things would be Mastermind. **

_**Please, when you review (you better!), don't give away this ending. I know some people like to read the reviews before they actually read the story, so don't ruin it for 'em!**_

**A Few Facts You May Find Fun:**

**The 'working title' of this story was 'Judgement'**

**The 3rd chapter was originally going to explore Pietro's first love**

**Originally, in the 2nd chapter, the doctor's head was going to explode instead of eyes melting**

**In the comics, Magda (mom) went to great lengths (including getting herself killed) just to keep the twins away from their father**

**Magneto is often stubborn, mean, and cranky**

**If you liked this, I recommend you try out Art Class as well, since Pietro has the star role there. Please review and thanks so much for reading!**

_**Lin-sama the Super Villain**_


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